ww w. p o l a r. o rg / a n t s u n The November 12, 2000 PublishedA duringn the australt a summerr atctic McMurdo Station, Antarctica,Sun for the United States Antarctic Program quote of the week Tug of SAR “This is my kingdom, you are my slaves!” - lone hiker on Observation Hill, overlooking McMurdo Station. I N S I D E South ‘Poll’ picks a winner page 3 Skate under thick ice page 5 Twin Otter odyssey page 6 Name that Justin Reese, Joe Harrigan and M.K. Fortune test a snow anchor during tryouts for the secondary search-and-rescue team. The so-called “dead man” device is buried in the snow to secure a crevasse nu n a t a k rescue line. Twenty-eight people tried out for the team, which has 12 spots. Photo by Tobias Schunck. page 10 A timeless machine returns By Josh Landis Sun staff n the next few weeks, don’t be The Basler BT-67 Isurprised if you look up in the sky and see what looks like a vintage plane flying overhead. The shape of the twin- engine, low wing aircraft you see may date back to the 1930s, but the BT-67 represents the newest addition to the U.S. Antarctic Program’s air fleet. See DC-3 on page 4 2 • The Antarctic Sun November 12, 2000 Wasting away in An t a r c t i c a By Josh Landis Sun staff What happens to our trash There’s a paradox of human habitation • 3.9 million pounds of waste went north from McMurdo Station at the in Antarctica: The continent that has the end of the 1999-2000 season most brutal and forbidding environment • Largest shares: wood (651,000 pounds) and construction debris on the planet also has one of the most (650,000 pounds) fragile ecosystems. A footstep will remain • Food waste made up 494,000 pounds visible in the Dry Valleys for decades. A • That averages out to more than 400 pounds per person (population seal population can be thrown off-kilter 1,200) by the introduction of a simple, yet for- • 58 percent of all waste was recycled or reused eign, microorganism. And the refuse of a human population that’s very small by U.S. standards can come next. under federal regulations that would cover mar this beautiful land for centuries. The National Science Foundation’s such a facility in the U.S., the foundation The evolution of waste management on commitment to recycle materials such as didn’t prepare an environmental impact Ross Island has gone from no concern for solvents, paper and aluminum sometimes statement for the project. After losing a the environment in the early days of the costs more than regular disposal. court battle with environmental groups, explorers to U.S. Antarctic Program stan- “They’re commodities, and the price the NSF decided to abandon the incinera- dards that are approaching zero-impact. we get depends on what the market’s pay- tor approach and ship the waste home. Days of open-pit burning and open-water ing,” Vinson said. “It’s more of an envi- It was an event that probably increased dumping are long gone. They’ve been ronmental decision.” the program’s recycling rate. Now waste replaced by a system that returns nearly Te c h n i c a l l y, recycling doesn’t occur such as paper and cardboard that might four million pounds of waste to the States here, but the sorting ensures that once the have been burned gets turned into post- each year. refuse returns to the States the process is consumer products. And much of it gets recycled. easily handled. As the largest presence on the conti- Wednesday is America Recycles Day, Some methods of reusing waste, how- nent, the U.S.’s evolving approach to but for Tom Vinson, manager of waste ever, do take place at a local level. For waste is becoming a standard for other operations, it will be business as usual. example, furnaces that burn waste oil and programs. “Antarctica recycles every day,” he fuel to create heat account for the dispos- “Other nations are starting to look to us said. “It’s the best option we have.” al of almost a third of the hazardous waste for guidance with their plans,” said Recycling starts at the garbage cans, as stream – 341,000 pounds last season. The Vinson. anyone who’s been to McMurdo knows. furnaces also conserve new fuel that The simplest Antarctic recycling Categories range from burnables to bio- would otherwise have to be used for the method can’t be beat. It’s the “skua” sys- waste, clothing to construction debris. same purpose. tem. No transport, processing, manufac- There are 19 different varieties of solid Not all burning efforts have been suc- turing or distribution is involved. waste here, and 18 categories of haz- cessful. Everything from clothing to chairs to tele- ardous waste. In the early 1990s the NSF built a visions to teapots can be reused without The most-recycled item by weight is multi-million dollar incinerator to dispose having to go anywhere. heavy metal, adding up to 341,000 pounds of some of its solid waste at McMurdo And the only hazard involved is look- last year. Light metal and paper products Station. Believing Antarctica did not fall ing out-of-style. ■ REA D Y FO R Discovery in the snow Scott’s Discovery hut TH E HO L I D AY S ? was besieged by snow earlier this week. Shop at According to Art Cayette of Mac Weather, more the Store. than 20 inches fell in the area between Monday and Friday. The heaviest • snowfall recorded in a Hats, clothing, single month was 28 inches in October 1971. souvenirs Photo by Jeff Inglis. and more! November 12, 2000 The Antarctic Sun • 3 South Pole poll: Nader for president By Tracy Sheeley Sun contributor While the U.S. populace waits for the final results of the 2000 presi- How the candidates ranked dential election, summer residents of the South Pole have already picked their winner. 35 Victory goes to the Green Party. 32 In the mock poll, Ralph Nader led all other nominees with 32 votes, 30 30 squeaking out a narrow victory over democrat Al Gore, who received 30 votes. Other major party candidates fared considerably worse. Seven 25 Polies voted for republican George W. Bush, and reform party candidate 20 Pat Buchanan received zero votes. 20 Ge o r ge Bush narrowly beat out Michael Gomez, a South Pole win- 15 te r -over pipe fitter. Gomez was the preferred write-in candidate with 6 votes, and the local winner. 10 Un f o r t u n a t e l y , Gomez left Pole on Nov. 9 for greener pastures, so there was no time to arrange a lift from Air Force One. 5 7 6 The write-in campaign was a lively one, with the vast majority of 4 nominations receiving just one vote. Being alive was not a prerequisite, as ballots for candidates ranging from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Bill the Na d e r Go r e Bu s h Go m e z Harry Ot h e r s Cat were submitted. Anti-government sentiment was detected in one (w r i t e - i n ) Browne (w r i t e - i n s ) ballot which read, “They’re all crooks!” (L i b e r t a r i a n ) Ninety-nine eligible voters participated in the South Pole election, which translated to a 50 percent turnout. Things are settling down once If Polies were in charge, Ralph Nader would be our next more at Amundsen-Scott Station, and the ballot box has returned to its president. Ninety-nine people – about half the station’s res - original role - a materials inbox. ■ idents – submitted ballots in a mock poll. the week in weather CORRECTION Last week the photo that accompanied the article, “The skua: A bird for the ages,” was around A n t a r c t i c a incorrectly credited to Walter Clark. Irma Hale took the picture. McMurdo Station Palmer Station (last week) South Pole Station High: 32F/0C High: 42F/6C High: -33F/-28C Low: -10F/-18C Low: 13F/-11C Low: -45F/-47C Windchill: -36F/-38C Wind: 53 mph/85 kph Avg. temp: -39F/-39C BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND Wind: 56 mph/91 kph Wind: 37 mph/60 kph TUE S . - SAT. 6 TO 10 A.M. AT TH E LAT E S T around the world Saturday’s numbers (depending on business) Cape Town, South Af r i c a Pleasantville, N.Y. High: 71F/22C High: 54F/12C The Antarctic Sun, part of the United States Low: 56F/13C Low: 42F/6C Antarctic Program, is funded by the National Perth, Au s t r a l i a Natchez, Miss. Science Foundation. High: 81F/27C High: 66F/19C Low: 49F/9C Opinions and conclusions Low: 57F/14C Baku, Az e r b a i j a n Nome, Al a s k a expressed in the Sun are not High: 58F/14C High: 34F/1C necessarily those of the Foundation. Low: 46F/8C Low: 25F/-4C Us e : Reproduction and distribution are encouraged with acknowledgment of source and author. Pu b l i s h e r : Valerie Carroll, Communications manager, Raytheon Polar Se r v i c e s Voice your opinion on national and global issues Senior Editor: Josh Landis • www.planetproject.com Editors: Beth Minneci Make your thoughts known on many topics.